Simplicity
by KousukeAsazuki
Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Iruka has turned Kakashi into the most desperate sort. \\Request fic-- Little Leila; KakashiIruka, fluff//
1. The Challenging Beginning

Welcome to crack land. Population: YOU. And the cast of Naruto. Another request fic from a lovely Gaian. I myself am amused with the plot, so hopefully I can put that into writing effectively. Enjoy!

* * *

"That's good for today, Naruto!" Iruka clapped his hands and watched as the shadow clones poofed from existence. "You've been improving a lot," the teacher told him, approvingly, as the blonde joined him.

"Well, now isn't the time to slack," Naruto said, wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead.

"True enough," Kakashi agreed, nodding, "but that's enough for now. You should go home and rest. We'll have more training tomorrow."

"But Kakashi-sensei, I'm not-"

Iruka saw where this was heading-- Naruto didn't like to give up on his training until he literally passed out. Interrupting, he patted the fox demon on the back. "How about I take you out for ramen to celebrate how far you've come?"

Immediately distracted by the mention of a free meal, Naruto jumped at the chance. "Well, since you put it that way..."

"Then let's go," Iruka chuckled, heading from the forested area where Naruto had been training.

"Just a minute, Iruka," Kakashi said, holding up a hand. "I want to talk with Naruto in private for a moment."

Blinking, the school teacher shrugged. "I'll meet you there, then." With a wave, he left teacher and student alone.

* * *

"So what did Kakashi want to talk to you about?" Naruto had shown up at the ramen house only a few minutes later, ready and willing to eat his old teacher out of house and home.

"Oh, it was nothing," the blonde said, waving a hand dismissively. "You know how Kakashi-sensei is."

Iruka eyed the ninja suspiciously for a moment before chuckling to himself. "That I do."

"Huh?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow at the other, but shrugged it off. All thoughts were pushed aside as a huge bowl of ramen was set in front of him.

_"So he thinks he can outsmart me?" _Iruka thought as he watched the younger one dig in. _"We'll see." _

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto murmured suddenly. His face had become very solemn, very unlike himself, and his chopsticks clinked lightly against his half-empty bowl.

"Hm?" Iruka blinked, not expecting the blonde to stop eating for anything short of Sasuke reappearing.

"What do you think of Kakashi-sensei?" His forehead was creased in concentration as he stared across the table to the other ninja.

"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?" the brunette asked, feigning shock. _"Oh, Kakashi, you really are simple to figure out sometimes."_

"Well, I mean..." Naruto paused, trying to figure out just what he _did _mean. "He's a great teacher and all and a nice guy, but I don't know him a whole lot apart from that. You two know each other well, right? Is he as good of a guy as he seems?"

Despite seeing through his comrade's trick, Iruka couldn't help but smile at the question. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking back to Naruto's impatient stare. "Well, to be honest..."

Naruto leaned across the table a little, a bit _too _eager for the answer. "Yeah? What is it?"

Iruka grinned. "Kakashi's a nice guy, but he needs to work on his skills a bit. I mean, isn't Gai beating him in their little contests right now?" He was absolutely positive that would do it.

Sure enough, Naruto fell right out of his chair, a look like he had just been shot plastered on his face. Slowly, he sat up and looked up at Iruka. "G-G-_Gai_? Are you kidding?!" Letting the initial shock wear off, the blonde quickly stood up and bowed. "I have to go, Iruka-sensei, thanks for the meal!"

Iruka's chuckle grew into a short laugh as Naruto bolted from the ramen shop. _"Kakashi, sometimes you are so simple to figure out."_

* * *

Once at a safe distance from the ramen shop, Naruto skidded to a halt face-to-face with his double. A defeated sigh from the fake and in a poof Kakashi was standing in its place.

"Didn't go so well, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. His only response was a hung head and slumped shoulders.

_"Gai," _Kakashi thought, _"I just have to best Gai. _Then _Iruka will realize how great I am." _It was a fool-proof plan; unfortunately Kakashi was acting quite like a fool in making it. "Go get some rest," he ordered his student, "you'll have plenty of training tomorrow."

"Hey, wait!" Naruto shouted as Kakashi disappeared from sight. "I never got my ramen..."

* * *

Poor Naruto. So, will Kakashi be able to prove himself to Iruka through idiotic, meaningless competitions against Gai? Well, even if he doesn't, at least we'll be amused. Read on~


	2. The Simplest Ending

Now for the exciting conclusion, the inner workings of Gai's mind, and the fluffiest ending you will ever read. Enjoy!

* * *

Iruka woke early the next morning to the sound of a commotion outside. Curious, he went through the motions of getting dressed quickly and ventured out his door. He approached a small, growing crowd of onlookers and tried to peek over their shoulders. "What's going on?"

"Those two are going at it again," someone told him, motioning to Kakashi and Gai.

The two ninja were laying on the ground on their stomachs, chopsticks in hand, digging into the soft earth as rapidly as they could. Bits of dirt and gravel were flying into their hair and faces, but neither seemed deterred by such a thing as they went on digging what seemed a very ineffective hole.

"What...are they doing?" Iruka asked, blinking-- perhaps this was some weird dream he was having?

"Another competition," Naruto spoke up, joining his old teacher's side, grinning. "Seems Kakashi-sensei challenged Gai to a contest: Whoever can dig down in the ground three meters with only a pair of chopsticks first wins."

"That...is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of," Iruka muttered, watching in awe as the mound of dirt next to either Konoha resident began to build up.

"Gai-sensei accepted the challenge with no fear!" None other than Rock Lee backed up his teacher's actions, a proud look on his face. "I'm sure Gai-sensei will win! He has the power of youth on his side!"

"Right..." Iruka shook his head and looked back to the two fools digging in the dirt, much like children. It seemed Lee wasn't so mistaken, as Gai seemed to have the upper hand.

"Ha!" A victorious fist was pumped into the air only a few minutes later as the black-haired shinobi climbed from his hole. "Three meters exactly." He looked over to his opponent, who was only two, perhaps two and a half meters into his work. "Good effort, Kakashi, but it looks like I came out victorious this time."

Grumbling, Kakashi lifted himself out of his hole and brushed the dirt from his clothes. "Alright, Gai, but you won't win again."

Grinning, the leotard-wearing man held up a hand. "Say no more, I know exactly what our next challenge shall be!" He wasn't quite sure why Kakashi had approached him all of a sudden, but Gai was sure it was something to do with suppressed desire to pit himself against his greatest rival. Either way, his list of challenges that he had thought of and meticulously written down over and over again would come in handy now.

A single, blue eye watched as Gai withdrew two decks of cards from his vest, holding one in each hand, bending them nearly in half. "What are you-" The question was answered without a word, but instead with 104 cards being catapulted through the air, fluttering every which way. Some were caught by the wind and carried into tree tops while others landed in puddles and a few even made their way into the pair of man-made holes.

"52 card pickup!" Gai announced, excitedly. Without hesitation, he began collecting the cards nearest to him, counting each one as he acquired them.

"What, are you crazy? That has nothing to do with skill!" Sighing as he was ignored, and quickly being left in Gai's proverbial dust once again, Kakashi resigned himself to a tree where four or five cards had been blown.

"Why are they doing all of this?" Naruto asked, watching from the dwindling crowd, who was losing interest in the events at hand. Iruka didn't answer, but grinned widely to himself as he watched Kakashi jump from one tree to the next, search in bushes, and even check his own clothing for any cards he could find.

* * *

The competitions had been going on relentlessly. Gai and Kakashi were in a heated battle of high wits and little skill as they maneuvered through each competition, one right after the other. With each passing game, Kakashi slipped a little further behind, his skills not lying in the mundane and absurd games that Gai had perfected in his downtime. Finding himself at a serious disadvantage, Kakashi became frustrated, trying to rack his tired brain of any way to get ahead. No answers came to him, though, and so he pressed on through jump rope (which he actually did win due to Gai catching his foot on the rope and falling), tree-hopping, bird-catching, and odd number-counting.

The two were now involved in their seventh competition in the past two days. Naruto, Lee, and Iruka were the only three to persevere with the two idiots and they now watched as their friends and mentors attempted to drown themselves in a lake.

"So they're seeing how long they can hold their breath?" Naruto asked, watching the motionless bodies.

"They'll probably drown before they let themselves admit defeat," Iruka commented, still not believing that Kakashi went to such measures.

"You can do it, Gai-sensei!" Lee cheered on, though Gai was far from being able to hear him, his head submerged underwater.

Finally, Kakashi surfaced, panting harshly and spitting out water. He immediately looked to his side, where Gai was pulling his head up, and groaned-- he'd lost again. What did that make this? Five to two? There was no way he'd win at this rate.

"Give up yet, Kakashi?" Gai asked, seeming energized from the ice cold lake water.

The silver-haired ninja gave a small scoff, but didn't reply. Maybe Iruka had been right, maybe he _couldn't _measure up to Gai; maybe Gai deserved Iruka more than he did?

Lost in his thoughts, Kakashi didn't notice the object of his desperation approaching him. When he looked up, Lee, Gai, and Naruto had disappeared and only Iruka remained. "Where did everyone else g-"

"You didn't have to do all of this," Iruka interrupted, sitting down next to him. He tugged Kakashi down, laying the wet, silver-tressed head in his lap. "Why didn't you just say something?"

Blinking, but too exhausted to fight what he really wanted in the first place, Kakashi closed his good eye and relaxed against the other's body. "I thought maybe Gai was better for-"

"For who?" Again he cut Kakashi off, smiling like he would to a child that was being taught a lesson. "Me? Shouldn't I be the one to decide that?"

Slowly, Kakashi nodded, feeling rather foolish and childish, but too comfortable in Iruka's embrace to really care. _"I guess it was that simple, after all," _he thought before drifting off. The events of the past two days had exhausted him more than fighting any battle ever had. He had put his entire being into those silly competitions, ignoring that little, reasonable voice in the back of his mind that said it was all moot.

Iruka's smile didn't fade as he combed his fingers through the wet locks of hair. "You really are...very simple, Kakashi Hatake."

* * *

(falls over) I put this off for a day or two, then forced my ADD away long enough to finish it. Which is rather impressive for me-- my ADD is strong. Now I'm going to go collapse before I have to work. I hope you enjoyed the little humor/fluff thing here, I actually had a bit of fun writing it.


End file.
